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Post by rikita on Jun 10, 2013 18:40:51 GMT
In September 2007, Mr. R. and I went on our first trip together - two weeks in Portugal. As always, two weeks was too short to see all we wanted to see, so we decided to limit ourselves to the Northern half of the country, starting with Lisbon and working our way up and back down... Though afterwards, when Mr. R. had returned home, I also went to the Algarve for a few days before traveling on to Spain... In this thread I want to show some highlights of our journey, as far as I remember them (it is of course already a while ago).
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Post by rikita on Jun 10, 2013 18:56:25 GMT
We arrived later than planned, as our flight was delayed due to a bird having bumped into a wing on a previous flight. While the airport personell searched the manual with the help of which they wanted to check, whether the resulting bump in the wing still was under the size that meant it couldn't fly anymore, I tried to sleep. After all we had booked an early morning flight. Eventually the plane left, and despite getting up very early we arrived in the later afternoon and not in the greatest moods. Our hotel changed our mood though. It was great! Quite reasonably priced and a bit run down, but it had a kind of special charm. I especially liked this little detail in the staircase: A wall decorated with a random collection of tiles. Also, the hotel was very central, with our room looking down on Rossio Square. The other side looked onto another square (I forgot its name now), and in the background you could see the castle.
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Post by bjd on Jun 11, 2013 6:13:17 GMT
Wonderful, Rikita. My husband and I went to Portugal in October 2007, and stayed in a hotel in the same area that was a bit of a dump too -- although they were putting new tiles on the staircase walls while we were there.
Looking forward to seeing your photos.
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Post by tod2 on Jun 11, 2013 12:39:22 GMT
Ah! Now I know where Rio got that wavy look for it's sidewalks. Thanks Rikita! I hope you have lots more to show us?!
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Post by anshjain97 on Jun 11, 2013 13:19:22 GMT
Not been to Rio but those wavy patterns remind me of the main square in Macau.
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Post by bjd on Jun 11, 2013 17:47:47 GMT
Macau was a Portuguese colony for ages, Ansh.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 11, 2013 18:03:24 GMT
I have wanted to return to Portugal since my one and only trip there... in 1971. I loved it. There was a train from Paris to Lisbon that took 27 hours.
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Post by htmb on Jun 11, 2013 18:24:05 GMT
I was there in 1974. Though I remember parts of Lisbon, I can't for the life of me remember if we actually visited the castle or just drove by it a couple of times. I know I didn't take many pictures, but haven't been able to locate the few I did take on that trip.
Looking forward to seeing more of your photos, Rikita. Maybe something will help jog my memory.
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Post by bjd on Jun 11, 2013 18:37:54 GMT
In 1996, with our kids, we rented a little house on the coast about 50 km north of Lisbon, but did a few trips to the city, as well as visiting other places north.
In 2007, we spent almost a week in Lisbon, then went to Evora, south to the Algarve (Lagos and Tavira). I really like Lisbon and would go back in a flash.
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Post by lugg on Jun 11, 2013 19:02:29 GMT
I am another lover of Portugal so looking forward to reading more about your visit and viewing your wonderful photos.
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Post by rikita on Jun 11, 2013 20:36:44 GMT
Thanks for all your comments! One of the things I liked best, was just walking around and taking photos of tiles. After all, azulejos are an important part of Portuguese culture... It got to the point that Mr. R. often got annoyed, as I wanted to stop every five minutes to take another photo. In general, I really enjoyed Lisbon. It has a nice atmosphere, a lot of houses that are beautiful and at the same time a bit run down, so like our hotel, it is a charming, old fashioned beauty, that gives me a nostalgic feeling... Buildings with laundry and tiles were what I most liked to photograph... They reminded me of the pictures I'd seen in guide books. I liked how the advertising poster was glued directly on the tiles - and I like how it is there, and broken, doubling the contrast of old (tiles) and new (advertisement), by the advertisement itself being old and broken...
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Post by anshjain97 on Jun 12, 2013 1:01:14 GMT
Yes, bjd (#5)- I knew that- still, the similarity is striking.
The tiles are really something, aren't they?
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Post by nycgirl on Jun 13, 2013 13:00:10 GMT
Absolutely beautiful tile work! I also love your old vs. new shot. And like you, I love seeing colorful laundry draped outside the windows. Not only do the clothes make an aesthetically pleasing composition, but they hint at the lives happening inside a building's walls.
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Post by rikita on Jun 13, 2013 19:08:29 GMT
Of course it is not only laundry that gets dried outside the windows... The first thing we did on that first evening was walk to a view point to have a look at the city from above. The viewpoint itself was nice as well, with lots of trees giving shade. View into town from above: We didn't stop at the café next to the view point, but it seemed like a nice place: Walking back, I enjoyed the views into up- and downhill streets. As the city is situated on seven hills, there are a lot of those. To finish that first day we went to a street near our hotel that was full of restaurants. While back home in Germany the weather was getting colder, we were sitting outside, enjoying a nice evening and some fish and wine...
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Post by bjd on Jun 14, 2013 6:45:52 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jun 14, 2013 10:44:04 GMT
I will have to find my slides of Lisbon before I can post any photos...
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Post by bjd on Jun 14, 2013 11:32:19 GMT
Oh, I won't interfere any more in Rikita's thread. I just thought it amusing that we toook pictures of the same thing within a short period of time.
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Post by nycgirl on Jun 14, 2013 17:29:07 GMT
Another good clothesline shot. Portugal looks lovely, thanks for sharing.
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Post by rikita on Jun 14, 2013 18:58:38 GMT
hehe cool that you photographed the same café bjd!
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Post by rikita on Jun 15, 2013 19:43:20 GMT
The next day, we went up to the castle. On the way, we had the opportunity to see more of those narrow up-and-down-hill streets. Some more passageways than actual roads: The Castelo de Sao Jorge sits on top of a hill, overlooking the historic part of Lisbon. Today, the fortified citadel is a ruin on the site of a fortified outpost dating back to Roman times and older. Later, Moors built a citadel, which in the 12th century during the reconquista went to the Portuguese king. However, most of the building fell victim to the earthquake of 1755. I especially liked walking around the castle gardens, which again had a beautiful old, nostalgic feel to them, and were peaceful despite being a tourist attraction. On the castle grounds, there are more viewpoints from which to see various parts of the city.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 15, 2013 20:01:03 GMT
I remember those narrow uphill passages/streets very well.
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Post by rikita on Jun 17, 2013 18:32:44 GMT
Later on we inspected the square in front of our hotel a bit more, one of the most important squares of Lisbon. There is a fountain on the square which birds seem to like using as a bath: Not far is this iron elevator, which took us into a different, higher situated part of town, where we looked for example at the ruins of an old church. Also I visited an antique bookshop there to buy a portuguese book I ended up never reading. And of course I enjoyed again seeing the various houses, often with tiles, and windows like this hairdresser one:
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Post by nycgirl on Jun 18, 2013 13:42:35 GMT
Great tilework and ironwork in that last photo. Excellent shot of the seagull in the fountain.
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Post by rikita on Jun 18, 2013 19:03:40 GMT
thanks!
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Post by rikita on Jun 18, 2013 19:09:27 GMT
In the evening we went to the Praca de Comercio. To get there, we walked along the Rua Augusta, a commercial pedestrian zone, through which we could already see the square. View from the square back to Rua Augusta, behind this arch: The Arches underneath a building at the square: Trams on the square - not the famous tram line 28, but we took that one too (just the photos from that didn't turn out very good):
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Post by rikita on Jun 21, 2013 10:02:48 GMT
The next day we explored Lisbon some more. First, walking around we came across this park. Well, in fact it was more of a street with just a park like area in the middle. For me though, coming from a climate much too cold for palm trees, anything with palm trees is fascinating, as it means I must be on vacation and traveling somewhere warmer than here. Then we went to Belém (in fact: Santa Maria de Belém), which has been part of Lisbon since the late 19th century. While the historic center suffered a lot of damage during the 1755 earthquake, this didn't happen as much in Belém, one of the reasons that there are a lot of tourist sights here. farm3.staticflickr.com/2336/1732445568_a5ef9bd1f6.jpgThe Mosteiro dos Jerónimos is a monastery from the 16th century. Inside the impressive building there are graves of various portuguese kings and explorers. The ceiling of the church was quite impressive: Altars and elaborate decorations with lots of gold are of course part of the whole thing...
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Post by tod2 on Jun 21, 2013 15:09:50 GMT
I am really enjoying your travels Rikita. Lisbon is so much like the old Lorenzo Marques in Mozambique- which is the closest I have been to experience Portuguese food and architecture. Your photos are super and I can see you had an eye for photography way back then!
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Post by nycgirl on Jun 21, 2013 17:08:11 GMT
Lisbon seems like a very clean and well-kept city. Does most of the city look so nice? That church is beautiful. I don't think they have enough gold on that altar, though.
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Post by rikita on Jun 23, 2013 7:19:42 GMT
Thanks! Well I was only there a few days, so I didn't see everything, but what I saw of Lisbon, I quite liked...
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Post by rikita on Jun 23, 2013 8:45:18 GMT
Nearby is the Padrao dos Descobrimentos (Monument to the Discoveries), built in 1960 to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the death of Prince Henry the Navigator. From the back it looks like a cross: In front it has more the form of a ship, and you can see all the different discoverers and I think kings on there... In the background is the Ponte 25 de Abril (Bridge of the 25th of April). With 2278 meters hanging above the Tejo river (3.2 km for the whole complex) it is the second longest bridge of this type, which is open for cars and trains. It was opened in 1966. Walking down along the river, we soon reached the Torre de Belém, another famous sight of Lisbon. On the way we enjoyed being at the water on the sunny day, and watching the boats sailing in the Tejo. Built between 1515 and 1521, the tower is one of the best known symbols of Lisbon. Originally, there was a second tower, and both towers were further in the water. From them, incoming enemy ships could be shot at from both sides. The second tower got destroyed in the earth quake of 1755, and due to earth deposits the tower is now almost on land. In the 19th century it was used as a prison and armoury, these days, however, it is a tourist sight with a viewing platform.
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